Label: Sludge People

Produced by: Ross Harris (recorded by)

Sludge metal – slow, pounding drums; a singer who can howl and shriek; a pumped up bass; razor-edged guitar; all in service of lumbering, anthemic blasts. I don’t know that KIM’s equation is unique by any means, but greater than the sum suggested by that equation, absolutely.

I can find nigh-fuck all about this band online, but the late 2010s / early 2020s offered up two releases, Sir Kim being the latter and more fully formed of the two, though both are fantastic. Discogs gives us band members’ names… and it looks like the majority of their credits are in KIM, so pending some future news / releases from this Oakland group, this may be a here-and-gone deal, but damn, quite some drops in that time.

Sir Kim rages between slow burn blasts – Spifire, Fa(i)r(e) – that spotlight Jessica Calvanico’s way of swapping from croaky croon to banshee screams (and some hardcore yells for good merit); slowcore noise rock – Alive – akin to a less smirky Part Chimp; and punk-adjacent angsty rockers – Carmilla – that make a bid for something like Helms Alee. The slow-burn formula isn’t mastered as tracks build up without a conclusion necessarily in mind, but that doesn’t minus out the intense payoff of when any given song’s levee breaks. Also, nods of approval for the Sinead O’Connor cover of Jackie, which is the album’s break from volume, but it’s also not the strongest performance, more notable for thematic choice – the album’s lyrics raging for independence of thought and being – than the song itself, though YMMV if you’re a fan of the original.

But besides this criticisms, latch moreso onto my references, which are good company, and add to it that KIM brings their own flair, with Ross Harris’ recording giving off somewhat lo-fi vibes but very cleaned up at the same time, making for a unique sound that’s ear-blasting without being overwhelming; arena filling but also pretty intimate.